--1B Kevin Youkilis and 2B Dustin Pedroia are among the leading vote-getters for the American League All-Star Game starting lineup, but their respective leads are shrinking. Both players have less than 300,000 votes separating them from Twins 1B Justin Morneau and Rangers 2B Ian Kinsler, respectively. OF Manny Ramirez was the top vote-getter in the outfield with 2,409,388 votes as of Sunday afternoon and injured DH David Ortiz was leading his field by nearly one million votes. C Jason Varitek is also in the running for All-Star team voting, but trailed C Joe Mauer by roughly 140,000 votes. RHP Daisuke Matsuzaka and RHP Jonathan Papelbon both had pretty good shots at making it as many as seven Sox All-Stars, and OF J.D. Drew has also put up All-Star numbers.
--RHP Mike Timlin had his second consecutive scoreless inning of work while rehabbing with Class AAA Pawtucket on Saturday night. The 42-year-old right-hander is on the 15-day disabled list with left knee tendinitis, and struck out two batters in his second consecutive successful appearance. Timlin has struggled from wire-to-wire with the Sox this season, and it's hoped that some minor league work could benefit him. --RHP David Aardsma, a former hard-throwing closer on the Rice University baseball team that qualified for the College World Series in 2003, escorted his father, Dave, to the mound for the ceremonial first pitch on Saturday night in Houston. The elder Aardsma is a senior vice president of sales and marketing for Waste Management, an Astros corporate sponsor, and then watched his son pitch an inning of relief during the ensuing game.
--RHP Josh Beckett went 0-for-3 with two strikeouts while hitting against the National League Houston Astros, and the Sox pitching staff closed out 2008 interleague play with a pitiful performance at the plate. The entire Boston pitching staff finished with an 0-for-25 performance and finished with 18 futile strikeouts. The last Sox pitcher to register a hit was Beckett against the San Diego Padres on June 24, 2007.
--LHP Hideki Okajima continues to struggle in the same set-up role that made him an American League All-Star last season. Okajima has allowed 12 of 15 inherited runners to score this season, and leads the American League with an astronomical 80 percent failure rate out of the pen. The inherited runner allowed to score in Sunday's loss was the first time in 15 outings that Okajima had entered a game with a runner on base.
BY THE NUMBERS: 80 percent -- The number of inherited runners (12 out of 15) LHP Hideki Okajima had allowed to score this season entering the week. That was the highest rate in the American League among relievers.
QUOTE TO NOTE: "I hope that other teams look at what's gone on here the last five, six years and might think that we're doing some things the right way and that ultimately it comes down to the people. Those guys, Jed (Hoyer), Ben (Cherington) and also Craig Shipley (vice president of international scouting), they're some of the key people in the trenches making the key decisions. I'd like to think that owners look at that, that they might make good GMs sooner rather than later." --Red Sox GM Theo Epstein, to the Boston Herald about possible GM job opportunities for the top people working in the Sox front office.
